A Yuma County detention officer is being hailed a creative hero for saving a drowning man.
According to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, on Friday, March 31, 2023, at approximately 8:40 p.m., detention officers assisted a Border Patrol agent with rescuing a man who was unable to get out of a canal near County 13th Street and Levee Road.
The officers were in the area to support Border Patrol with transporting individuals under Operation Stonegarden. They were asked to assist a Border Patrol agent who was attempting to get a man out of a canal with a large tow rope. The man was not able to keep hold of the tow rope and kept losing his grip.
Officers then attempted to locate a different rope option. During this time, Officer Pedro Alvarez decided that he could tie the end of the tow rope into a loop creating a cowboy lasso. Officer Alvarez was able to toss the rope in the canal and lasso the man, allowing the officers to be able to successfully pull him out of the water.
Border Patrol rendered aid and the officers transported the man to Border Patrol Headquarters.
Sheriff Wilmot presented Officer Alvarez with a Yuma County Sheriff’s Office Challenge coin for his “selfless act of valor and true ingenuity to save a human life.”